A showcase of Tibetan culture serves Chinese political goals

Happy culture on display at fest

Tibetan horsemen display their skills at a govern- ment-organized festival in Yushu, China, in July.

Tibetan horsemen display their skills at a govern- ment-organized...

BATANG GRASSLANDS, China — Women came in finery, wearing bright silk dresses, silver belts and necklaces with turquoise and coral. Men sauntered across the field in boots and cowboy hats. Some nomads had ridden motorcycles for days from valleys in Sichuan province.

They came to this green-carpeted plain for the annual Tibetan horse festival, three days of horse racing, yak riding and archery.

But Tibet being Chinese-ruled Tibet, the Himalayan rodeo also had a display of martial force.

On the second morning, between races beneath an azure sky, two dozen ethnic Han members of a Chinese paramilitary unit marched through the middle of the race grounds. They held batons and wore helmets and black body armor over green camouflage fatigues. An officer with a walkie-talkie barked orders.

As they walked once around the oval track, the mostly Tibetan audience stayed quiet. Then the soldiers marched off. Minutes later, the next race began, with young jockeys clinging to galloping steeds that kicked up clouds of dust.

These days, horse festivals on the Tibetan plateau are not just about equestrian prowess. They are political affairs with a propaganda goal: Chinese officials hold them to signal to people here and abroad that traditional Tibetan culture is thriving, contrary to what the Dalai Lama and other critics say.

The image of Tibetans showcased by the festival is one that China has long promoted of its ethnic minorities, that of dancing, singing, happy-go-lucky, costume-wearing, loyal citizens of the nation. But there are dissonant notes, including the presence of Han soldiers, who have been posted to horse festivals across the plateau since a Tibetan rebellion in 2008.

The festival this year on the Batang Grasslands, at 12,000 feet near the market town of Yushu, or Gyegu in Tibetan, drew thousands of nomads, monks and merchants. But even as they were swept up in the excitement of the races, for many the occasion was tainted by its role as a tool of government propaganda.

“Many people might think Tibet is developing well and in the right direction after watching the horse race,” said Tashi Wangchuk, 30, a businessman in Yushu who is fighting to preserve Tibetan culture. “The government holds this kind of big horse-racing festival to advertise Tibetan people’s lifestyle to the outside world — that our life is very happy and joyful.”

The government promotes this image, he said, even as it restricts the teaching of Tibetan language, tries to control Buddhism and presses Tibetans to assimilate into the dominant Han culture.

“So much of our lives is controlled by the government,” said a Tibetan man from Sichuan. “This festival is no different.”

The festival here celebrates the Kham culture of eastern Tibet. Kham, a region of valleys, ravines and hillside monasteries, was traditionally home to Tibet’s fiercest warriors. Although they were conquered in 1950 by the People’s Liberation Army, the people of Kham have remained feisty. Many took part in the 2008 uprising that spread from Lhasa across the plateau, and there have been self-immolations protesting Chinese rule in recent years.